Creative Writing Minor

The Minor in Creative Writing offers students the chance to explore the full spectrum of literary genres including fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. For English majors, the sequence connects the study of literature to the process that produces it. For students in any major, it is an opportunity to develop writing and general communications skills and to enhance both critical and imaginative thinking. And for students who seek a writing life, it is a good beginning: they learn to read as writers, develop and revise works for peer review, and refine their efforts for possible submission to journals or for a graduate school application portfolio. They and all of our students have exciting opportunities to participate in a community of writers through readings, events, and publications that include a literary journal of national reputation.

Program of Study 

Rationale for the Minor

In fall semester 2010, the Department of English launched its creative writing minor to build on the success of creative writing courses in recent years and to meet the needs of a growing community. In just one short year, the program has expanded from a few 3000-level courses to many courses at both the lower-division and upper-division levels.

 
In the courses that make up the creative writing minor, students develop their creative talents by:

• analyzing works of both canonical and non-canonical writers;
• understanding and imitating those writers’ techniques and styles;
• developing and revising work for peer review;
• critiquing one another’s work in workshop-style courses;
• and preparing work for submission to recognized journals and contests.

While many students take the creative writing courses for pleasure, many aspire to become published authors or to pursue master degree programs in the fine arts.